The Tottenham left-back says his Argentine manager has been a father figure to him over the last two years.
Tottenham Hotspur left-back Danny Rose has revealed to the club’s official website that Mauricio Pochettino promised him upon the manager’s arrival two years ago that he would turn the defender into a regular England international.
Pochettino has developed a well-earned reputation during his time in England of being a master at nurturing young players and helping them fulfill their potential, both at Southampton and Spurs.
The North London side is now based largely around a young core of players including Harry Kane, Dele Alli, and Eric Dier, all of whom have also become established Three Lions stars.
When the Argentine arrived at White Hart Lane in 2014, Rose appeared to have no great future ahead of him and there was even talk that he could soon be shipped out of the club.
However, shortly after Pochettino’s appointment Rose was awarded a new five-year deal – a decision initially questioned heavily by supporters – and he then enjoyed the most successful season of his career.
Now he is the club’s undisputed first-choice left-back, and has improved so much that he was named in the PFA Players’ Team of the Year at the end of last season by his fellow professionals.
Handed his senior England debut in March, the 26-year-old now has seven caps to his name, including starting three of his country’s four games at Euro 2016 earlier this summer.
Rose revealed to the Spurs website that his establishment as an important Three Lions star is the fulfilment of a promise made to him by Pochettino when the manager arrived two years ago.
He said: “It’s no secret when the manager came in that I was uncertain about my position here and rightly so, because the season before I didn’t do as well as I could have done.
“The manager came in and spoke with me, I was one of the first people he spoke to. We talked about a lot of things for about an hour and one of the first things he said was if I entered into his philosophy, he would make me into an England player, so he’s been true to his word.
“Not everything has been great, he’s had to put up with a lot of mistakes I’ve made but he’s always stuck by me. Whenever he’s had to tell me off or say I’ve not done something right, there has always been great advice at the end of it. He’s been like a father figure to myself and a lot of the players here.”
Rose will win his eighth cap on Sunday after being named in new England manager Sam Allardyce’s first starting XI for the first 2018 World Cup qualifier against Slovakia.
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